The OGO on The Late Show with David Letterman

So we had an invitation to appear on The Late Show with David Letterman, and took the OGO along for Dave to try out - check it out: David Letterman in the OGO:

At the end of the show, David's guest Joseph Gordon-Levitt asked if he could try out the OGO too. So we took it out onto 53rd street and let him loose. Check it out: Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the OGO

New OGO site in Rotorua, New Zealand

After more than a year of discussions we have signed a long-term lease for developing a new OGO site in Rotorua, New Zealand.

This site will be owned and operated by us and developments will start on the land as soon as the weather permits.

We look forward to creating a fantastic site focused on giving our customers the best possible zorbing experiences at the best value-for-money.

We'll keep you updated with our progress and expected opening date.

Our Invention in the Olympics

Bizarely enough, the ball Dwane and I invented were used in the closing ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympics and are apparently being used as the "symbol" of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia!

A reporter for the New Zealand Herald interviewed me about my reaction to the news.

In general I think it's bizarre and I'm flattered that the idea that Dwane and I came up with so many years ago has become globally recognised and used at some of the largest events in the world.

OGO and Fishpipe on TV

We've had a few TV crews out to New Zealand to film both the Fishpipe and OGO.

• NHK from Japan will be screening footage of the OGO and Fishpipe in mid April.
• Discovery Channel - Daily Planet from Canada will be screening footage of the Fishpipe and OGO (and some other very rare, early footage of some of the products we developed that didn't quite make it to market) in mid to late March.

Photo 1: David points in the direction he thinks the OGO will roll for the cameraman. Meanwhile Jodie texts her friend; "ths doofus dsnt no wat hes talkng abt"

Photo 2: Andrew explains to Canadian viewers how pirates are the future for adventure sports.

OGO & Fishpipe at IAAPA 2009

After a non-eventful 2,000 mile journey across the USA to Las Vegas we set up our booth at the IAAPA (International Attractions and Amusement Parks Association) expo.


Anything that could go wrong during setup didn't. The whole process was very smooth and everything worked exactly as it should. Dave and Chris had a momentary panic when they pushed the start button for the Fishpipe for the first time and nothing happened, but plugging it into the electricity supply made a big difference and we were off and spinning.

The IAAPA expo itself was extremely successful for us. We were kept talking to prospective buyers and demonstrating both the Fishpipe and the OGO every minute of every day - we didn't even get a chance to check out the other booths and rides!


In addition we had TV crews filming us and interviewing us for Fox and ABC Morning News on consecutive days.


It was great being back out there catching the enthusiasm from other people for our creations. Now we're crazy-busy replying to the hundreds of enquiries and building units for shipping around the world.

Tennessee to Las Vegas

On Monday 09 November David, Chris and I set off from Sevierville, Tennessee for Las Vegas, Nevada with the Fishpipe and a U-Haul van packed to the gunnels with all the gear we needed for exhibiting the Fishpipe and OGO at IAAPA Expo 2009.


With a check-in time of 7:00 am on Thursday, we had 3 days to drive over 2,000 miles with our 7,000 pound payload across Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and into Nevada ... what could possibly go wrong??


Unfortunately for this story, nothing did go wrong ... no serial killer hitch-hikers, no crazy in-bred mobs running us out of town, no road-side transvestite hookers or over-protective county sheriffs ... just miles and miles of straight, flat roads. No songs will be sung or sagas written about our heroic journey, or if there are they will be short and boring ... kind of like this post.

Mobile Fishpipe

We've completed the design for the Mobile Fishpipe and we're making the first ones in factories in the USA and New Zealand.

The entire unit can be towed behind a vehicle from place to place (with the barrel deflated of course) and then quickly set up at your chosen location.

 

Go to www.thefishpipe.com for more information on how you can get your hands on one of these!